A Simple Act of Kindness

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“I believe that kindness is one of the most important human characteristics. It _x000D_
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is not that hard to say a simple ‘thank you’, and yet it can really change the outlook of _x000D_
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someone else’s day. My sister once told me, It takes more muscles to frown than to _x000D_
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smile. I have noticed that just being polite to the people around you can really make _x000D_
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the atmosphere around you more positive. I can think of a lot of examples of when _x000D_
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being polite has made things a little smoother, including one at the doctor’s office, _x000D_
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another at the commissary, and another one on the metro train in Paris. _x000D_
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Yesterday, as I was heading to my appointment at the doctor’s office, I entered _x000D_
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an elevator to go to the third floor where my doctor’s office is located. As I entered the _x000D_
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elevator I pressed the button and waited for the door to close. I was running a few _x000D_
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minutes late and I was a little concerned that I would not make my appointment in _x000D_
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time. I noticed an old man enter the building and slowly make his way to the elevator. _x000D_
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Instead of allowing the elevator door to close on the old man, I held the door open _x000D_
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until the old man was able to board the elevator with me. Even though I was running _x000D_
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late for my appointment I went a little out of my way to help this old man. When he _x000D_
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entered the elevator he grinned and said, thank you, young man. Even something as _x000D_
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small as holding the door open for the old man had a positive impact on his day._x000D_
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Last week, I was standing in line at the commissary with my wife, when all of _x000D_
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a sudden some lady in front of me starting complaining to the cashier. Apparently, she _x000D_
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had not been able to find some of the products that she came looking for. In addition, _x000D_
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she yelled at the cashier for the poor selection of products, the long line to check out; _x000D_
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and even yelled at the cashier for the speed at which she was checking her items out. _x000D_
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…”